Announcing SmashingConf Meets AI (Online)
Heya Smashing Friends,
Roll up your sleeves! Meet shiny new 🟡 AI 2027 Conference, a friendly online conference on AI-ready design systems, AI-driven research, AI + Figma and AI design patterns. What to expect in 2027 and where teams are getting AI right. With Brad Frost, Christine Vallaure, TJ Pitre. Jump to tickets.
Meet AI 2027 Conference on Tue, Dec 1. Get your ticket.
We also have a few practical online workshops scheduled for the rest of the year:
- Deep Dive On Accessibility Testing Dev
with Manuel Matuzović. Nov 9 – Nov 23 - Design Patterns For AI Interfaces UX + self-paced course
with Vitaly Friedman. Nov 16–24 - Designing Websites That Convert UX
with Paul Boag. Dec 7 - Designing For Complex UI Masterclass UX
with Vitaly Friedman. December 2–16 - UX Strategy Masterclass UX
with Vitaly Friedman. December 11–15 - Jump to all workshops →
And in this newsletter, we’ve put together a few useful books, guides, templates and resources — from storytelling and design to product psychology and leadership, a wealth of free online books and guides offers curious minds the opportunity to learn, grow, and discover something new.
Without further ado, make room on your digital bookshelf. Your next big idea, breakthrough, or professional skill might be just a few pages away!
— Vitaly
1. Storytelling Guides
How can we tell stories that matter, delight, offer value, and maybe even change the world? To help us communicate more effectively — whether it’s in the boardroom or on stage — Jeremy Connell-Waite created Tell Better Stories. The site is a treasure chest of resources, from storytelling principles and story structures to one-pager sketchnotes, worksheets, and reading lists.
2. Short Books For Designers And Developers
For 14 years, A Book Apart has published a much-loved collection of more than 50 short books for people who make websites. When they closed their doors in 2024, the rights to each book fell back to its respective authors, and many of them continue to offer their work for free or in new editions. Authors Together helps you find the books in their new homes.
3. Reading Lists For Designers
What books should designers read and why? “35 Books Every Designer Should Read” asked some of the industry’s best designers to find out. From books on building a business to leadership, creativity, and threats of toxic tech, the reading list sure has a book to spark your interest.
For more inspiration on what to read next, also check out Stripe’s list of book recommendations: “Design Books For Non-Designers.”
From our sponsor
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AI agents now update records, call APIs and write files. Rook, the CLI behind Agent Assurance by TestMu AI, reads your agent's code, writes everyday and adversarial test scenarios, runs the real agent and checks the database, files and tool calls for proof. See how Agent Assurance works →
4. Product Design Psychology
We often speak about cognitive biases and behavioral patterns, but not too much about how they apply to product designers who shape the UX of the product. Wouter de Bres’ free book Product Design Psychology provides insights into how people think, judge, trust, remember, and make decisions — but also how UI mechanics shape perception and behavior and how the system you work inside shapes what gets shipped.
5. Declassified Guide To Product Design
How do I know if product design is a good fit for me? What should I learn first? And why am I not landing any interviews? Elizabeth’s Declassified Guide to Product Design answers these questions and many more. Drawing on her experience helping hundreds of product designers land their first product design roles, Elizabeth Lin wrote the free book as a companion throughout your product design journey.
6. Books For Managers
Team management, SaaS growth, product ownership, UX research — the team at Eleken published a library of five short, free eBooks with insights from the front lines of SaaS UI/UX design. A great foundation for product managers who want to better understand how UX helps build better products.
From our sponsor
Bring Wild Ideas. Spread Them At MozFest, Oct. 28–30 In Barcelona.
Last year, more than 2,000 people came together to unlearn old ways of building tech. This year, with eight tracks and a spot in Barcelona's Open Tech Week, MozFest gives your ideas room to run wild. Join us for three days of conversation and hands-on building. Get your badge →
7. The Manager’s Handbook
So you’ve been promoted to manager. Your ambitions are high, but you also feel a bit lost on how to master this new, responsible role. No worries, you’re not alone. Alex MacCaw and the team at Clearbit published a free handbook to support you every step of the way: The Manager’s Handbook, with practical tips for managing yourself, hiring, coaching, setting goals, fostering collaboration, and resolving conflicts.
8. Accessible UX Research, Now Shipping 📚
We’ve got exciting news! Our newest Smashing book, Accessible UX Research by Michele A. Williams, is finally shipping worldwide! Get the book right away or order the eBook for instant download.
Meet our brand-new book: “Accessible UX Research” by Michele A. Williams. Printed copies shipping now.
Accessible UX Research is your practical guide to making UX research more inclusive of participants with different needs — from planning and recruiting to facilitation, asking better questions, avoiding bias, and building trust. Download a free sample (PDF, 2.3MB) or get the book right away.
9. Upcoming Workshops and Conferences
That’s right! We run online workshops on frontend and design, be it accessibility, performance, or design patterns. In fact, we have a couple of workshops coming up soon, and we thought that, you know, you might want to join in as well.
With online workshops, we aim to give you the same experience and access to experts as in an in-person workshop from wherever you are.
As always, here’s a quick overview:
- Deep Dive On Accessibility Testing Dev
with Manuel Matuzović. Nov 9 – Nov 23 - Design Patterns For AI Interfaces UX + self-paced course
with Vitaly Friedman. Nov 16–24 - Designing Websites That Convert UX
with Paul Boag. Dec 7 - Designing For Complex UI Masterclass UX
with Vitaly Friedman. December 2–16 - UX Strategy Masterclass UX
with Vitaly Friedman. December 11–15 - Jump to all workshops →
10. Person Of The Week: Jad Joubran
Please give a warm round of applause for our Person of the Week: Jad Joubran. Jad is an independent JavaScript and Web Performance consultant and educator who has trained developers worldwide through online platforms, in-person workshops, and university lectures.
Passionate about making modern web development enjoyable, clear, and accessible, Jad has also created a series of interactive courses, including “Learn JavaScript,” “React Tutorial,” “SQL Tutorial,” and “Learn AI.” Jad is recognized by Google with the Developer Expert award.
Thank you for everything you do for the community, dear Jad! 🧡
20 Years and Counting: Thanks For Being Smashing!
Did you know that SmashingMag has been around for 20 years? Thank you so much for reading articles, newsletters and attending workshops and conferences — online and offline.
This year, Smashing has turned 20 years old. You can show your support with a one-time contribution.
If Smashing has helped you learn something, solve a problem, or see things from a new perspective, please do consider making a one-time contribution (pay by Apple Pay or PayPal). Your support truly helps us keep practical web knowledge open and accessible to everyone. 🧡
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That’s All, Folks!
Thank you so much for reading and for your support in helping us keep the web dev and design community strong with our newsletter. See you next time!
This newsletter issue was written and edited by Cosima Mielke, Vitaly Friedman, and Iris Lješnjanin.
Sent to truly smashing readers via Mailchimp.
We sincerely appreciate your kind support. You rock.
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